The present disclosure relates generally to adhesion to surfaces, and more particularly, to the formation of nano-structures on a surface to promote adhesion.
Adhesive bonding is an alternative to the more traditional mechanical fastening methods of joining materials, such as nails, rivets, and screws. One of the major differences between an adhesive joint and mechanical fastening is that, generally, in mechanical fastening one or both of the parts or materials being held together is pierced by a mechanical fastener, whereas an adhesive joint may be formed without the piercing the materials. This leads to one of the advantages of adhesives over mechanical fastening, namely the ability to, not only fasten different materials, but to also to form a seal between components in a single step. Mechanical fastening typically requires separate sealing and fastening steps to create a sealed part.
For example, in the area of microfluidics, the utilization of separate mechanical fasteners and sealants or gaskets would result in larger, more expensive, and less efficient devices compared to that obtainable using an adhesive. Adhesives also provide an advantage in fastening dissimilar materials together, from the standpoint of fastening materials such as glasses, ceramics, and silicon devices, in which forming the holes to allow fasteners to be utilized is difficult and expensive.
In an inkjet printing system, a printhead structure may include a number of discrete components connected via adhesive joints to define a printing fluid path. The adhesive joints may be exposed to potentially corrosive printing fluids which, over time, may tend to weaken the adhesive joints, particularly at the interface between the adhesive and the surface. Where an adhesive joint fails, printing fluids may penetrate into regions where there is active circuitry, leading to corrosion or electrical shorting, or both.